At the end of Tuesday 9th December, 2014 government delegates, UN Staff and civil society representatives were already exhausted from the intensity of the High Level Segment. UNEP staff participated in almost 30 events between Monday and Tuesday. Undoubtedly, Tuesday was a very important day in the UNFCCC process.

On the penultimate day of COP 20, I had the opportunity to interview Mr. Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director. Mr. Steiner had a lot to say but the most invaluable advice that he gave is that youth should not allow the global political theater, UNFCCC COP, make us feel hopeless as if we are incapable of taking positive actions to address climate change because we are already making positive change, and it up to us and no one else to decide if we want to continue making positive changes.

Monday 8th December, 2014 was a very hectic day of climate talks at UNFCCC COP 20. The negotiations resumed and there were numerous issues under different thematic areas that were being discussed. The negotiations were not very fruitful and were clouded by lots of arguments. For instance, when the revised draft negotiating text for ADP was released, a number of negotiators boisterously voiced various concerns about the text. Similarly, there was an intense standoff between the developed and developing countries over the reductions in GEF funds available for climate change under the GEF’s sixth replenishment.

On day seven of COP 20 there were no climate negotiations. Some of the delegates and members of civil society could be seen jogging along Miraflores. Some were making their way onto tour buses and others decided to stay indoors.

On Saturday 6th December, most of the fascinating and thought-provoking activities were happening outside of the venue. I attended the Global Landscapes Forum which runs from 6-7 December, 2014. The first Global Landscapes Forum was held in Warsaw, Poland. The discussions at this forum focus on the linkages between land use sectors and climate change.

The buzz phrase for day five at UNFCCC COP20 is “Adaptation Gap Report”. There were a number of formal and informal meetings held today on this report which received high media coverage and one media personnel gleefully said, “they are talking about big ‘money’ and we need to follow it”.

On day four at UNFCCC COP 20, there was nothing extraordinary about the negotiations. The Government Delegates divided themselves into parallel sessions to address climate change matters such as finance, mitigation, cooperation and support. In some of the closed sessions, however, intense negotiations on the issue of candidature for certain positions in the climate arena were taking place.

Small and family farmers produce four fifth of all the food consumed in the world. The places where they live and work are the first to affected by climate change, nevertheless, according to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) they don´t seem to be represented in the policies designed to combat climate change.

How youth can influence climate negotiations at COP20 is undoubtedly a common thought among us. Today during the fourth day of COP, Christiana Figueres, (UNFCCC Executive Secretary) addressed this issue in an interview with twelve Latin American journalists.